We don’t another RIP thread, but just came across this rather nice tribute to John Gaustad, the founder of the wonderful Sportspages bookshop. I didn’t appreciate the role he played in the William Hill prize, and generally the improvement of sports literature. I used to love wasting time in there, usually on the way back from appointments. The range of books, the fanzines, the staff were all great. I even managed to avoid dribbling like an idiot when I got my book signed by the saintly Eddie Gray.
Probably thanks to him and Sportspages that I have a small library at home of sports books, though I am hard pressed right now to pick out a favourite. Probably,, it would have to be Fever Pitch which I bought there.
So, now time for a list….your sport book favourites and recommendations.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jun/21/john-gaustad-obituary?CMP=twt_books_b-gdnbooks
I am completely sportophobic. So when I say I liked The Fight by Norman Mailer, I guess that means that it’s the greatest book about sport ever written by anyone.
However David Foster Wallace’s review of Tracey Austin’s biography is a wee masterpiece as well…
http://lostcoindev.com/pipermail/class-list_lostcoindev.com/attachments/20090310/b9fe4368/attachment.pdf
My favourite non-football book, bought in Sportspages was The Dogs by Laura Thompson. It’s about greyhound racing, just in case you might think it is referring to athletes with unsavoury extra-curricular activities.
Football book is probably David Winner’s Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football.
I also like a lot Duncan Hamiliton’s Provided You Don’t Kiss Me, his memoir of Brian Clough as Forest manager. I’m pretty sure this came out after Sportpages closed so I’m having this third pick.
Maybe we do need a second obituary thread, we just about half way through the year and obituary thread one is extremely long now, I dread to think how long it will be by the year’s end.
No sports books to recommend however, a blind spot for me.